


Troublesome

by neek_fics



Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Difference, Alcohol, Alternate Canon, Crushes, Eventual Smut?, F/M, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Hatake Kakashi is Bad at Feelings, Jealousy, Lust, Original Character(s), Pining, Reader is sort of an OC, Slow Burn, Thirsty Kakashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29515917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neek_fics/pseuds/neek_fics
Summary: You're impulsive, unpredictable, and dangerous. An absolute headache of a Kunoichi Kakashi now feels responsible for. You're way more trouble than you're worth.He's unreadable, intelligent, and dangerous. A labyrinth of a man, much too complicated to be bothered with for your taste.Yet here you both are, and you somehow can't let each other go.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi/Mitarashi Anko, Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Reader, Nara Shikamaru/Reader, Shiranui Genma/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	1. Back at It

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline wise this takes place a few years after the end of Shippuden. The story will be sort of canon sort of not, yes Sasuke is around let me enjoy it ok lol. This is meant to be reader-insert but originally was more of an OC story in my head so I'm apologizing now because reader/OC has her own character traits/personality (I'll write truer "reader" fics in the future). I have no clue how long this fic will be yet so be patient with me pls. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! I hope to update weekly :)

_I definitely should not be out tonight._

Regardless, here you are, being dragged into the same bar you’ve found myself in on so many Friday nights. Sakura looks over her shoulder back at you, grinning from ear to ear, way too excited about tonight for suspicion to not be aroused. Ino and her assured you that they just missed going out with you, and that there wasn’t anything special planned for the night. You should have known when they insisted on you wearing clubbing attire instead of the typical bar night outfit you like to throw together.

Even with all the warning signs, you allowed yourself to be forced out tonight. You can never say no to them, and you’ve never been known to say no to a night of drinking and partying either. So, no matter how much you fought them, you all knew how much you really missed going out. Standing outside of one of your favorite bars, you can already tell that it’s a busy night. Before you get a chance to wonder any more about what these girls have waiting inside, Ino practically shoves you through the front door as Sakura pulls you in.

“Hey, she’s here!” yells Kiba excitedly to everyone. They’re all sitting together at a group of tables by the bar. Kiba, Shino, Naruto and Hinata are sitting together, and at the table next to them is Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, and Sai. Sasuke is sitting alone at a table closest to Naruto, and it looks like Sakura had him hold the table for you. It’s sort of cute how the man who was once determined to destroy the village is now the dutiful boyfriend of this pink haired kunoichi, but that’s the shinobi world for you. Sitting in this bar are some of the most dangerous and powerful shinobi to live, and they’re currently drinking and laughing together like any group of friends.

 _We almost pass for civilians_ , you think.

Kiba’s announcing of your arrival was punctuated by cheers and greetings from everyone. It had been so long since you have all been together like this, and the idea that this is all for you has the heat rising to your cheeks as you return the biggest smile to everyone. You look at Ino and Sakura and they both shrug and smile, like this wasn’t a total bitch to plan when you know it must have been. You settle in at the table Sasuke saved you, thanking and greeting him. Sakura throws her arms around him; she’s always so excited and happy to see him, no matter how long they’ve been together. He shrugs her off trying to act annoyed, but the way his had lingers on the small of her back afterwards as his cheeks remain warm makes it clear he loves her affection. It’s those little things with Sasuke. You feel Shikamaru slide in next to you at the table with a bottle of sake almost immediately after you sit down.

“It’s good to see you y/n, we’ve all missed having you out with us,” he says, wasting no time pouring you a cup.

You smile back, “trust me I’ve missed this just as much.”

You down the sake in your cup quickly. _Oh, this is gonna be a night_.

* * *

Just as quickly as you got there, the party moves to the dance floor, as the sake had been flowing freely even before you arrived. It’s good everyone got a head start on you, because your drinking has gotten you in trouble before, but thankfully tonight you’re on the _perfect_ level with everyone else. Sakura of course is glued to Sasuke’s side (and front) the whole night, having a little too much fun dancing with him. You’re so glad to see her let loose. Of course, you and Ino are having your fun as well dancing on and with each other. Ino will throw it back and let loose with you always, so you’re both giggling and enjoying yourselves on the dance floor.

Shikamaru doesn’t go as crazy as you guys, but you love pulling him in to dance whenever you can. When he loosens up and stops acting so cool he’s actually a pretty good dancer too. He has rhythm, which is more than what you can say for Sai, but you love seeing him out with everyone at least trying to enjoy himself. Kiba can’t keep time with the music for shit either, but that doesn’t stop him from dancing. Naruto might be the most fun, because the sake has him feeling himself, leaving it all out on the dance floor. One night he even got Sasuke to dance with him, and that was a sight to behold for sure. Of course, if you mention it to Sasuke he’ll deny it happened. That or he’ll kill you.

Tonight though, everything feels so perfect. Dancing and laughing the night away with the people who mean the most to you. It’s easy to forget about everything else.

“I gotta run to the bathroom, be back.” Ino says into your ear, trying to talk over the booming music. You nod and follow her off the dance floor, needing a break from the dancing yourself.

“I’ll go grab us drinks if you want to meet me at the bar when you’re done,” you say.

“Girl, say less,” she says before turning towards the bathroom.

You giggle to yourself hearing her response, she’s always down for another drink, just like you.

You order some cocktails at the bar, leaning back on it while you wait for your drinks. You’re wearing some heeled knee-high boots which are tiring your feet pretty quickly. You can run for hours on a mission, but your feet have never liked heels. You still love these ones though, and they look really good with your little velvet black dress. The girls wanted you to wear a little color, but the all-black fit was really calling to you, _as usual_ , you think.

You’re awakened from the musings about your outfit when your eyes wander to a table at the far end of the room, away from the bar and dance floor, tucked nicely into a corner.

_Fuck._

“Fuck what?” says Ino as she materializes at your side. She quickly follows your eyes as you mentally kick yourself for saying it out loud.

“Oh, fuck,” she says eyes going wide before she turns back to you with a look of exasperation and defeat.

“Yeah,” you simply say, turning back to the bar as the bartender arrives with your drinks.

“Well, that’s fine. We didn’t even notice they were here, and it’s not like we’re going to have to interact with them,” Ino says not a moment too soon when you feel someone approaching from the direction of the table.

She feels it too, and you both look at each other with anticipation, unable to look back, waiting to see which table member has decided to approach you at the bar. You hear the voice on your right at the bar and breathe out in relief.

“How are you _lovely_ ladies doing tonight?”

 _Good, it’s only Genma,_ you think, the relief showing on your face. That same relief is not on Ino’s face however, and you almost feel bad for looking so relieved when you know this is exactly who she did _not_ want to talk to.

She twists her expression into one of friendliness and say, “Oh hi! We’re doing just great, just _lovely,”_ in a sickeningly sweet tone. You almost physically cringe at the venom behind her words, but Genma chuckles instead.

“I’m so glad, can I buy you girls a drink?” He asks, completely unfazed by Ino’s clear distaste for this whole interaction.

 _Either he’s completely oblivious, or Ino really has met her match with him,_ you think to yourself. One look at Ino has you rushing to answer before she hits him with a mind destruction jutsu on the spot.

“Thank you Genma, but we really should be getting back to everyone—”

“Oh man but at least come to the table to say hi real quick, I’m getting a round for everyone after all.”

And before you can come up with an excuse Genma has ordered the round and is ushering you over to the table.

To the last person _you_ wanted to talk to tonight.

Kakashi is sitting back with his arms resting wide on top of the booth. He looks completely at ease, and of course unfazed at your approach. _His damn mask,_ you think to yourself, _can never tell what that man is thinking_. You have a feeling that even if he didn’t have that damn mask on, you still wouldn’t be able to read him. On the other hand, you have never been so adept at concealing your feelings, so it takes everything in you to throw a convincing smile on and approach his table in the most casual way possible.

Of course, there to make it infinitely harder is Anko, cozied up at his side with her head on his arm. You could have sworn that his arm wasn’t around her a second ago, rather it was just lying on the top of the seat behind them, but now as you walk to the table his hand rests on her outside arm, pulling her into him. Anko’s also wearing a black fitting dress, but hers has a revealing cut out showing off her impressive cleavage, and long sleeves that further call attention to the skin revealed in the cutout. You can’t deny it, she looks good.

Good thing you do too.

“Guys, look who I found at the bar” Genma excitedly tells his friends.

“Heyyyy y/n, Ino” drawls Anko, seemingly drunk as well.

“Yo,” simply says Kakashi, as expected.

“Hi Kakashi-sensei, Anko-sensei,” Ino says, the venom behind her words gone, but still a little too cheery to be genuine.

“Hello, Senseis” you echo, knowing how Kakashi reacts to that title now that so many years have passed since you were genin.

He sighs, “girls please, I haven’t been your sensei in years, and technically I was never either of your senseis.”

You smile, a little too glad to push his buttons at the moment, “Of course, it’s just such a difficult habit to break— _sensei._ ”

Ino shoots you a mischievous smile, “You’ll have to forgive us _sensei_ , we’ve always been taught to respect our _elders_.”

You suppress a giggle at that. Thank goodness Genma dragged the both of you over here. Ino’s got a fire in her that catches easily when you add the spark. It’s a great friendship, although you can easily be too much for the people around you. You see Kakashi open his mouth to protest, but Anko beats him to it, “hey watch who you’re calling old you two! Besides, there’s a lot of great things about being a _mature_ woman.”

Of course, you may have had that one coming for you after your teasing, but the way she seemed to be egging you on with that last bit, looking at you as she subtly placed a hand on Kakashi’s thigh… You grit your teeth for a second before recovering your lighthearted disposition. Genma saves you from having to respond.

“Ah the drinks are here, how about a toast to the springtime of youth then, as our dear friend Guy would say.”

You all drink, and as the sake burns down your throat you realize you are definitely passing tipsy now, and even this slightly awkward encounter isn’t going to ruin your night. You and Ino exchange a look and she already knows what you’re thinking.

“You know personally, I wouldn’t mind being called sensei if you girls need someone else to fill that role,” Genma says with a smirk on his face. Kakashi rolls his eyes at him, and you can’t help but giggle. Genma is so forward, his shameless attitude is almost refreshing you admit. Ino, you already know, isn’t having it, “ugh Genma, you wish. Please keep us out of your perverted fantasies, mkay?” She turns to you, “dance floor?”

“Yes!” You exclaim, turning back to the table and thanking Genma for the drinks before excusing yourselves. Genma interrupts you, turning to Kakashi and Anko saying, “yeah let’s go dance!”

“Hell no—”

“Oh, I’d LOVE to Kakashi!” Anko jumps up to pull him with her. He hesitantly gets up all the while shooting daggers at Genma, who he blames entirely for this.

There was no way either of you were dancing with this group, so Ino hurriedly says, “cool see you guys!” as she pulls you away and towards your original group. Moving through the crowd to camouflage yourselves while you search for everyone, you run into Shikamaru first.

“Where have you been! Come on we all moved to this corner.” He grabs your hand and pulls you both with him to the group where somehow Naruto hasn’t exhausted himself yet, but is now dancing with Hinata, who you’ve never seen so red before.

You can tell that Shikamaru and a few others have drunk a little more since you and Ino wandered off, but a few are coming down from their highs as it gets late. Sakura and Sasuke have already left, but that’s pretty typical. You do hope they enjoyed the night though. Shino and Sai are standing against the wall talking and taking it easy, and Kiba and Choji both are slumped against the wall next to them apparently wasted. Your guess is Choji is probably in a food coma as well as a little wasted.

As you’re dancing with Shikamaru and Ino you notice Genma has found you with his entourage. He makes a beeline for Ino, and he pulls her aside to talk. You have to give it to him, the man sure is persistent. You look at Ino to see if she gives you a distress signal, but instead she waves you off. She continues to give him an annoyed look, but you can tell he’s warming her up to him again. She playfully pushes him away, and then you know it’s over for her. You sigh and look back at Shikamaru who gives you a quizzical look. You shrug and signal to Ino and he nods and laughs it off, pulling you closer so he can talk in your ear.

“You know how she is, just let her be— she can handle herself.” You huff at this, “I know I know,” you say. But then you both just smile and laugh it off. It’s uncharacteristic of Shikamaru to be so jovial, so you’re definitely going to enjoy the rest of this night as much as you can. You and Shikamaru keep dancing, and you catch Genma dancing with Ino, and of course Anko dancing with Kakashi. Anko is really letting loose and is all over Kakashi. You do your best to ignore them, lest he catch you staring and think that you’re jealous. Besides, you’re having a really good time with Shikamaru, who has somehow not said “what a drag” all night. You’ve got to drink with him more often.

As the crowd starts to thin, Sai and Shino decide to head out and take Kiba with them. They manage to wake Choji up by promising to take him to his favorite late night ramen place, and with the mention of ramen Naruto and Hinata are gone as well. With everyone leaving you and Shikamaru decide to leave as well, although you’re way too tired for ramen at this point.

“I’ll walk you home then, no worries” Shikamaru insists as you step outside of the bar. Ino disappeared with Genma which didn’t really surprise you, and you’re fine with walking back alone.

“You really don’t need to Shika, and you should go get ramen with everyone if you want to.”

“Nah, I had dinner with Choji earlier so I’m still way too full.”

You’re about to continue to protest when you spot Anko wrapped tightly around Kakashi’s arm as they step out of the bar as well. He looked damn good tonight, and right now since he’s not paying attention you allow yourself to appreciate it.

None of you wear your Hitai-ate out typically, so some of his hair falls forward across his face since it isn’t held back by it. A few strands just barely brush across his forehead, and his two dark eyes are still revealed. You sort of miss his Sharingan if you’re being honest, but you also like seeing more of his face now. The scar over his left eye is _really sexy_ too, but maybe you’re a little weird for thinking that. He’s wearing his mask of course, but it only covers his mouth, nose and neck. The button-down shirt he’s wearing has the top buttons undone, so his strong chest just peeks out, flashing the couple of chains he has adorning it as well. That sliver of chest really does it for you, and you have to stop yourself from imagining what it feels like to the touch before Shikamaru notices you’re zoning out.

More annoyed than you care to admit by Anko’s public displays of affection, you grab onto Shikamaru and concede, “Okay let’s go, thank you for offering.” You hold tightly onto Shikamaru as you start walking, citing your drunkenness and lack of balance as the reason why, only hoping Kakashi notices your fingers wrapped around Shikamaru’s bicep.


	2. Sensei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2nd part is Kakashi's pov. I'm enjoying writing a thirsty Kakashi- he doesn't read Icha Icha for nothing haha.
> 
> Also I think I'm going to avoid using y/n from now on- maybe I'll come up with an oc name instead? We'll see!
> 
> Anyways hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think.

The banging on your door makes you painfully aware of the throbbing in your head, which does **not** get better as light floods your vision and you move to get up.

“hey!” _bang….bang bang…._ “Are you dead in there?”

You swear Sakura is about to shatter your door to pieces.

“CHILL I’m coming….” you yell, only sharpening the needles you feel in your head. By the time you get to the door your vision goes black and you think Sakura might actually find you dead in a second.

_I definitely shouldn’t have gone out last night._

“Oh shit,” Sakura mutters as she reaches out to steady you. She guides you back to your bed and starts to fish around the bag she brought. She pulls out an assortment of medications and what appears to be an IV drip, or a “banana bag”. She brings you water from the kitchen and as she coaxes you into sitting up to drink some she finally admits, “ok maybe last night was too soon for you to come out with us.”

“You think?” you breathe out.

She doesn’t let you win this one though, “Look I knew you’d need some extra care today, but I figured you would know not to go so hard with the drinks.”

You roll your eyes at her. She’s right of course, you knew your body wasn’t at 100% yet and wouldn’t be able to handle alcohol like it’s used to. Unfortunately, restraint was not a virtue you had mastered in your 24 years in this world. Your last mission put you in the hospital for a week, and then there was still another week of recovery at home. It had been a long mission away from the village too, requiring you to guard a relative of the feudal lord in their travels. You may have gotten a little carried away last night, seeing everyone together like that. You missed it.

Sakura lowered her voice and said, “You really should be more careful on your missions. You’re way too reckless, even when you have backup.”

You weakly smile at her as she hooks up the banana bag to your arm. You’ve been in this same exact position with her many times before, and she always says a variation of the same thing. You got into a particularly nasty fight on this mission, with few major injuries luckily, but you did get close to using all your chakra. You have a special kind of chakra unique to your clan and bloodline. It’s uniqueness manifests itself as a kind of transformation jutsu, that grants you incredible power and speed, but takes a heavy toll on your body. Unlike tailed beast chakra, yours is slow to replenish, and chakra exertion means even longer recovery periods. Hell, Kakashi may even recover quicker than you most of the time. 

Because of this, you end up spending recovery time at home rather than the hospital, with Doctor Haruno coming by to scold and treat you. It’s almost enjoyable. Almost.

You take a deep breath and close your eyes, trying to lessen the pain that is now a dull throb in your head. You fall asleep as the drugs quickly work their way through your system and relief floods your body.

* * *

The orange-red rays of the setting sun project into your room as your eyes flutter open, waking you up as the sun sets. You already feel much better, and you don’t hesitate to kick off your covers and stretch out your muscles. You yank the IV from your arm and down the water sitting on your nightstand. You spot a note next to it and pull it up to read.

_Send for me if you’re still unwell when you wake up. Need to make sure your body is healed and your chakra mostly back. I think you just had a particularly nasty hangover this morning. Anyways Kakashi-sensei was coming to see you as I left this morning? Says you had training? I told him you were still recovering, and he rolled his eyes and walked away. Did something happen last night??? I got a shift tomorrow at the hospital, but I’ll come make sure you’re not dead when my shift ends :)_

_-Doctor Haruno_

You smile at yourself at reading her signature, she rarely calls herself that, but you love to tease her with her title when she’s nursing you. You also can’t help but smile at the fact she could have easily just waited for when she came to see you to question you about Kakashi, but you have a feeling she wanted to scribble in those extra question marks, just to highlight her curiosity.

The smile on your face fades when you think back to the interaction last night. _Ugh. Kakashi….._

As you pop a food pill before hopping in the shower to completely rid yourself of that “I got way too drunk last night feeling,” your thoughts inevitably wander back to the silver haired sensei.

_What **is** up with him? _You ask yourself as the hot water runs down your body, relaxing your muscles but not your mind.

* * *

There you are, leaning back against the bar with a look of pure contentment on your face. He hadn’t seen you out since your return from your mission. Which was way too close of a call according to Sakura. You’re so irresponsible, overusing your chakra like that, like it couldn’t _literally_ destroy you from the inside out. A complete headache is what you are, and the last thing he needs is more of those.

Unfortunately, with the sake now flowing in his blood, he can’t focus on you being a headache with you standing there in _that_ for very long. _Why did she have to be here tonight, wearing that…._ Kakashi inwardly groans to himself.

The dress fits you perfectly, hugging your body from every angle. It’s short, but the amount of thigh visible is limited by the boots you have on. This itself turns out to be a treat though, as the top of the boots squeeze your thighs just enough for a little _squish_ of thigh to appear when you bend your leg a certain way. Kakashi has never appreciated a woman’s boots so much before.

Before realizing he’s been staring a bit too long at a certain kunoichi’s legs, Anko brings him back to reality. She’s leaning towards him, setting her hand on his thigh and shifting forward to talk across him to Genma.

“Genma won’t you go get us another round? If we don’t drink more soon I’m going to sober up before the night’s even started,” she pouts at him.

Anko is showing off her breasts as usual, although the cut out on her dress is much more tasteful than her typical revealing fishnet top and jacket combination. She’s usually much more tomboyish, and her dress tonight flatters her very well, while still showing off her _assets_. Kakashi knows her little lean over to talk to Genma is just a ploy to get closer to him and to call attention to her breasts. _No complaints here_ , Kakashi thinks to himself as he watches her move.

Anko is attractive for sure, and had often been a welcome distraction from the difficulties of shinobi life. Yet, that’s really all she is to him, and a fellow shinobi of the leaf of course. He’s been taking advantage of her presence in recent weeks, trying to push _you_ out of his mind.

It’s just that you’re such a damn nuisance. He swears the stress you cause him is not worth the trouble. Before you left for your mission you had just been spending too much time together he decided, training and such. Then you go and almost get yourself killed, as was a habit of yours. It was all just annoyingly too much trouble for him. Some distance was needed; if you would just stay out of mind and out of sight for a little longer it’d probably be fine. Probably. 

Now here you are, looking like _that_. It’s really the last thing he needs right now.

“Genma! Did you even hear me?” Anko calls to him in an annoyed tone.

Kakashi catches what Genma is staring at (shamelessly he might add). It’s none other than miss Yamanaka herself, the stunning blonde gem of the famous Ino Shika Cho formation. She’s standing by little miss trouble by the bar now. _She really is too young for him,_ Kakashi judgingly thinks to himself, completely missing the hypocrisy of his earlier lustful gaze.

“Damn Genma are you still on that? Leave the young girl alone, I’m sure she has plenty of young shinobi lining up at her doorstep who don’t walk around sucking on a senbon all day.” Kakashi says, teasing his friend, who refuses to outgrow the shameless flirt phase he’s been stuck in since their teenage years.

Genma smirks at Kakashi before responding to Anko, “Of course I got the drinks, be right back.”

He saunters over with his hands in his pockets, to the now unsuspecting girls who have turned away from the table. You’re leaning against the bar now, showing your backside to the table. _Fucking hell…._ Kakashi quickly averts his gaze this time, his shame finally catching up to him. Anko may have you beat up top, but your ass is a completely different story…… _Ugh…._ Kakashi shakes his head, and focuses on Anko instead who is much too thrilled to be left with him at the table alone, her hand wandering up to his chest. Without thinking much of it, Kakashi wraps his arm around Anko when he realizes Genma is bringing the two kunoichi over.

* * *

Of course, you’re bringing up his age, insisting on calling him Sensei, when you weren’t even on Team 7. Sure, you were a genin when he led team 7 with the rest in your class, but still, you’ve both been jonin for years now. You had finally stopped calling him sensei in your recent training and sparring sessions, but here it is again, and now Kakashi is forced to swallow his own words about Genma being too old for Ino.

Since he hasn’t gone to see you since you’ve come back to the village, he thought you would be a little more excited to see him. But no, you’re all casual cheeriness as usual, yet he swears there’s a little spite behind that smile? _Could she be upset I haven’t dropped by?_ No, that can’t be it, Kakashi thinks to himself. Why would you care? You’ve got plenty of friends seeing you and you’ve been recovering anyways.

Anko bites back at your teasing in a _very_ forward way, claiming Kakashi with a hand on his leg. Usually, Kakashi would be annoyed by Anko’s possessiveness when their relationship is strictly casual, but there’s something about the bit of fire in your eyes that calls him to it. He saw it when your eyes flickered to his arm around her, and now, hoping to draw it out, he lets Anko have her way with him.

* * *

_I could have sworn that Nara kid was with the sand village girl_ … Kakashi inwardly contemplates as he was forced to watch your dancing all night. Sure, Anko is a lot of fun, but how the hell was he supposed to focus on anything other than the way your hips kept in time with the music, and how they got _too_ close to Shikamaru’s own much too often. And now as he’s leaving the bar with Anko hanging on his arm, he has to watch you walk off, wrapping yourself around Shikamaru.

“So…. Want to come back to mine?” Anko leans in and whispers the question in his ear.

He glances back at you again, and watches Shikamaru catch you when you stumble. You laugh so hard you start to stumble again, and Kakashi watches the both of you enjoy yourselves in your drunkenness and each other’s company.

“Sure” he shrugs to Anko, and walks away without looking back again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while! I'm trying to figure out where to take this story because I've low-key written some smut that I'm way too excited to put in. I want it to make sense in the story though so we're still a couple chapters away. I still don't know exactly what I'm doing with this, and it's really just for fun, but I'm glad some of you are enjoying it so far. Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this chapter!

Since your hangover nap completely messed up your sleep schedule, you decide to take a midnight walk in the village. There’s something relaxing about the quiet empty streets of the village when the sun is down and it’s not a weekend night. There’s the lingering warmth that permeates summer nights that you love, having always been a fan of the heat rather than the cold. The skies are clear, so you decide to pick a spot to stargaze on the nearby training field. You’re surprised to find that you’re not the only one with this idea tonight.

“Shouldn’t you be resting after all that last night?” Kakashi says without even looking at you, his eyes looking straight ahead at the stars in the sky as he lies on the grass.

He has his hands intertwined behind his head and his leg resting on top of his other propped up knee, looking as relaxed as ever. You’re slightly annoyed at the way he greeted you without even looking, if you can even call that a greeting. You also wonder _how_ it is that he always seems to know who is approaching him. _Does he recognize people’s scent, like Kiba does?_

Suddenly you’re a little self-conscious about what it is _you_ must smell like.

“Well, I rested all day so now I’m not tired.” You reply dryly, recovering from your previous train of thought to be annoyed at him again.

“I see” he says, yet again not bothering to look in your direction.

You sigh, wondering why this friendship is so strained all of the sudden. Instead of addressing this though, you lie in the grass next to him, leaving some space between the two of you.

Lying like this in silence, you let out another sigh. What used to be comfortable silence shared between two close friends has become awkward and heavy. _How can a silence be filled with so much… tension?_

“Could you sigh loudly elsewhere?” Asks the man next to you.

You sit up immediately and stare at him for a second, caught off guard by his snark pulling you out of your thoughts. _I’m sick of this_ , you think to yourself. _Something is off and he’s going to tell me._

Taking a deep breath, you say, “ Could you just tell me why you’re acting like this?”

For once, you catch him off guard. He finally turns to look at you, but he doesn’t say anything. He wasn’t expecting your sudden vulnerability or your question.

Recovering quickly and turning away again, he responds as coolly as ever, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Frustration taking over you say, “Bullshit Kakashi, I haven’t seen you at all since I’ve been back from my mission besides at the bar the other night.” Your piercing gaze and demanding voice are directed towards him while he continues to show little interest in what you’re saying. “Then you show up at my house and tell Sakura something about training which we haven’t even talked about since I’ve been back.”

He looks at you after that last bit and responds with a biting tone, “Well I figured if you were well enough to party you were well enough to resume our sparring sessions, but I guess I was mistaken about your priorities.”

_What the hell does that mean? Is he really lecturing me right now?_ The anger bubbles up in you as it suddenly feels like you’re being scolded like a child. You _hate_ being made to feel small.

“I thought we had established you weren’t my sensei anymore, and that I’m not a child anymore either.” You say, your voice lowered as you try to keep your anger from boiling over. You see his eyes widen a little at your change in tone. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I will _not_ allow you to patronize me like that.”

“That’s not what I meant—” he starts.

“I don’t care. I thought we had become close. I considered you a good friend. Maybe I was wrong to think that way. But you can’t avoid me for weeks and then act like I’m the one skipping out on you.” You get up from the grass and turn away from him.

“Goodnight Kakashi.” You walk away from him without turning back. Accepting his silence as complacency with losing your friendship.

* * *

Once again, you don’t see him for the next few days. You’ve realized that Kakashi is excellent at disappearing; it’s like he’s not even in the village. You wonder if this is how it was before you had become so close to the copy-nin.

Since that night, you decide to get back to training with a new partner until Kakashi gets over his pride and talks to you. You’ve been so confused about whatever has been going on between you two. It’s like he’s a completely different person to you now, so cold and detached. Even though you _know_ in your heart that something must be wrong, you can’t help but think it’s all in your head. _Maybe I did misread our friendship… maybe I was mistaken in expecting him to care or check in on me_. Either way though, you don’t know where he gets off on lecturing you, and that’s enough to keep you away from him for now. _If he wants his friend or sparring partner back he can come to me_ , you decide.

So, until that happens (if ever), you decide to reach out to Tenten about training. She loves her ninja tools, and your preferred fighting style is with a sword. Not that you can’t train with anyone else, but you think this could be a good learning experience with a ninja tools specialist. Your sword is the only thing you have from your clan, and its compatibility with your chakra makes it both special to you and a deadly weapon in the field. You also talk to Shikamaru about sparring, though he takes some convincing since he’s not really interested in augmenting his training regimen.

Unfortunately for you (and Shikamaru), Tenten is on a mission for the next week, so you harass Shikamaru into sparring with you. Sakura told you to ease back into training, emphasis on the ease, so Shikamaru doesn’t complain much about the little extra training. In fact, it turns out to be a lot of fun, and you realize how much you missed hanging out with him.

You’re happily considering this as you walk alongside him after a training session.

“You know Shika, I didn’t realize how long it had been since we hung out like this. It’s pretty nice.” You say honestly while giving him a playful jab with your elbow.

He smiles back at you before looking straight ahead and rubbing the back of his neck, clearly thinking about something else. “Yeah it is nice, I know I’ve been pretty caught up in…. other things for a while.”

You look in his direction for a second, eyebrows furrowed as you consider his reaction. _What is he talking about…. OH_ , you realize. “I didn’t stop to wonder why you seem to be more available than before….. sorry.” You say sheepishly as you look down to your feet.

He gives you a strained laugh, “You don’t need to apologize, things just weren’t working out with her in the sand and me here, you know?” He looks away and says more quietly, “I honestly don’t know what we were thinking…”

You don’t like how the mood has shifted because of something you brought up. He definitely doesn’t seem to be completely over it. Trying to cheer him up again you lightly squeeze his arm and say, “Well I’m glad you’re around more, you’re a pretty good training partner when you’re not complaining about it.” You look up at him and smile, hoping he’ll catch your teasing.

“Yeah well training with you isn’t a _total_ drag I guess,” he smiles back when you roll your eyes at this.

“Ugh let’s grab this ramen so you can get back to cloud watching or whatever it is you’re doing today.”

* * *

_Her and that Nara kid are real friendly now huh._

It shouldn’t matter to him, you clearly don’t want to see him, especially after he offended you that night on the field. He didn’t mean to lecture you, the words just tumbled out of his mouth before he could do anything about it. You were right too; he had no right to criticize you about not reaching out when you had been in the hospital for a week and he hadn’t so much as dropped by. Apparently you _did_ seem to care that he hadn’t, and he really doesn’t want to address the funny feeling he has in his stomach from knowing that.

Kakashi instead has been busying himself with his own typical routine, with some training mixed in with his typical lounging and reading of Icha Icha . He even went and bothered Lady Tsunade about sending him on a mission, but apparently she has too many high ranking jonin out of the village to send any more. _Even in peacetime the village stays busy I guess_.

Of course, Anko hasn’t left him alone since the night at the bar either. All of the sudden she’s _expecting things_ from him, and he is not about to fall into that trap. So, his days have been spent not only evading you but this other kunoichi as well, and he’s realized he’s quite good at it. Avoiding people, that is.

He’s perched on a high tree branch above a street in the village. Honestly he’s not even trying that hard to hide today, and is doing some people watching along with his usual reading. That’s when he sees you and Shikamaru sauntering into Ichiraku ramen, laughing about who knows what. Why is it that you’re always laughing with this kid? _I swear he cannot be that funny._

This isn’t the first time he’s spotted you with him in the last few days, and he’s seen you two sparring a couple times. He’s not _watching_ you or anything, you just happen to frequent some his favorite reading spots, that’s it.

That feeling is back in the pit of his stomach, and its force is slightly nauseating. He groans and tosses his head back against the trunk he’s leaning against. _I already decided to just leave her be, why do I want to talk to her still?_ The memory of you sitting on the grass staring him down as you told him off comes back to him. Your cheeks with a tint of red as your anger simmered just below the surface. Your posture stick straight as you glared with that fire in your eyes. He realizes he struck a nerve with what he said to you, and he immediately felt bad about it.

But your impassioned look kept him from completely regretting it. _She looked…. beautiful,_ he thought, remembering the flush of your cheeks, and the glow of your skin in the moonlight. He quickly shook his head to snap out of it. _What am I thinking?_ Reprimanding himself, he looks back at Ichiraku and decides to say something to you to clear the air. _Just to clear the air_ , he decides as he idly thumbs the pages in front of him before diving back into his reading.

* * *

Stepping out of Ichiraku after having a delicious bowl of ramen, you start walking with Shikamaru before you part ways to go home. The sun is setting, and the typical bustle of the village starts to quiet as people close up shop and head home to their families. Shikamaru will head home to his family at the Nara compound, and you to your small apartment.

You’re used to living alone, and it doesn’t bother you much anymore. You came to the village after being orphaned as a child. Kurenai found you while out on a mission and brought you back to the village. She had to go through hell to convince the Hokage to allow you to stay, having to sell you as a valuable weapon because of your clan’s abilities. Because of her you stayed and joined the academy, a rare case indeed. You like to think that you have been valuable to the leaf, and have proved your loyalty over and over, but it took a long time to get where you are and to have garnered the respect of your comrades. Most of the academy kids have long since accepted you though, and now they’re the closest thing you have to family.

“Oh hey Kakashi-sensei ” says Shikamaru at the figure that has seemingly materialized in front of the both of you.

“Hi Shikamaru, good to see you.” You see the crinkles at the corner of his eyes, a trademark Kakashi smile. “You mind if we talk for a sec?” He’s turned to you now, but he isn’t quite meeting your eyes. Hands in his pockets, his stance and posture show he’s as aloof as ever, yet the way his eyes avoid yours give him away.

You nod before turning to Shikamaru, “I’ll see you Shika, thanks for today.” He looks slightly confused at the need for a private conversation between you two but quickly shrugs it off. He’s never been one to stick his nose in other people’s business. “Anytime,” he replies.

He walks away offering both of you a wave before making his way home.

“So… training was good?” Kakashi awkwardly offers as a way to get into the conversation. He’s already rubbing the back of his neck and looking away, suddenly _very_ interested in the swaying branches above you two.

“What… how did you know we were training?” You stare at him in disbelief. _Was he watching us??_

You watch him physically cringe when he realizes you haven’t said anything about training. He tries to recover, “I— I assumed— well we typically train on Tuesdays.” _That was a close one_. He thought to himself. By the end of the sentence, he managed to regain his cool composure, like his assumption was an obvious one you should have guessed.

You stare at him in disbelief. For a second there he seemed…embarrassed? That moment came and went so quickly though that you’re no longer sure it happened. Watching the carefree copy nin standing there seeming almost _bored_ by your question suddenly changes your mood from disbelief to once again annoyed.

“What did you want Kakashi?” You deadpan.

He catches himself missing the honorific you left out of his name. He looks at you for a second before speaking.

“I didn’t mean to offend you the other night. Obviously you can do as you please.”

Your eyes narrow at him, trying to read something, _anything_ , in what shows of his face. _This isn’t much of an apology, and he’s not even going to mention how he was avoiding me,_ you inwardly sigh.

“Obviously,” you return. Arms crossed looking up at him. “Was there something else you wanted?”

He actually sighs. _Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?_

“Let’s resume training tomorrow. I’ll be on the same field as always.”

He wasn’t planning on saying that. That’s actually the last thing he was supposed to say. He’s supposed to stay _away_ from you. Unfortunately, the words tumbled out when his thoughts wandered to the Nara kid training with you from now on. He did _not_ like the way his chest tightened in response to that train of thought.

“No.” You coolly reply.

For once he doesn’t have a response for you. He just stares at you, and now you’re the one avoiding his gaze. _Damn it, why do I feel bad?_

You look back up at him and say, “I’m not training everyday yet— at least not intensely. Sakura’s orders.” You see him relax a little before you add _,_ “Anyways, I can train with Shikamaru or anyone else—you don’t need to train with me because you feel bad or anything.” You’re convinced he really doesn’t care for you all that much based off his recent behavior towards you. You don’t need him to stick around because of pity or something.

He immediately replies with, “Why would you think that I want to train with you because I feel bad?”

Now it’s your turn to cringe. Some heat rises to your cheeks as you suddenly don’t know what to say. “I mean—it’s just that—you—” You look at his face and suddenly there’s a softness in his dark eyes you hadn’t seen before. You swallow.

“…I’ll see you for sparring on Thursday.” You’re already walking home before you hear a reply, leaving him standing there on the street.

He watches you walk away as a smile creeps onto his face. Seeing you get so flustered—Kakashi could get used to that.


End file.
